If you are planning on visiting on the weekend in the near future, you might also want to check to see if Cal Trans is working that weekend. They are in the process of widening the I-405 through the Sepulveda Pass, and they sometimes close lanes over the weekend to do overhead work on the bridges. Take it from someone who spent an more than an hour sitting in traffic in the pass before: Plan Ahead!
Once you park/arrive at the lower entrance, you get to take the tram up to the top of the hill where the museum sits. (You can walk if you want... walking down is much better than walking up.) When arriving at the top, head up the stairs and into the first building. To your left, there is an information desk where you can grab a map. They have maps in many different languages. Once you grab your map, head over to the right of the entrance and get an ipod headset audio tourguide. They are free, but one member of your party will need to hand over a picture ID to the desk to hold onto while you are using them. If this is your first visit, head straight from the audio tourguide desk to the orientation theater, where you can watch a 10 minute introduction video about the Getty Center.
Before you got on the tram at the parking structure, you were probably handed a paper with that days tour schedule. Have a look at it now to see if anything is going to interest you so you can plan ahead. If you want to go on the Collections Highlights tour, you are going to want to arrive really early because it fills up REALLY fast. There are also usually Architecture, Garden, and Exhibition tours you can go on as well, although those tours don't usually require you to be there super early.
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| Lilies by Van Gogh |
If you aren't immediately interested in going on a tour, have a look at your map to see which of the five buildings you want to head to first. A smart bet is to visit the Exhibitions Pavilion, where the changing exhibitions are held. The exhibitions when I was last there was "Florence at the Dawn of the Renaissance: Painting and Illumination 1300-1350." If you want to know which current exhibitions are on display, check this link out.
Otherwise, go walk around and check things out! The North Pavilion has "art before 1700," with paintings on the second floor and sculptures and illuminated manuscripts on the first floor. The South and East Pavilions have "art 1600-1800," with paintings on the second floors and sculpture and "decorative arts" on the first floors. "Decorative Arts" is the fancy way of saying furniture. The West Pavilion has "art after 1800," with paintings on the second floor, sculptures and drawings on the first floor, and the Center for Photographs on the terrace (lower) floor. The second floor of the West Pavilion is where you will find the Getty's collection of impressionism, including Van Gogh's Lillies, which sold at auction in 1987 for $52 million.
If you get hungry during your wandering, there are a couple of places to eat, including a restaurant, two cafes, and several coffee carts. The Garden Terrace Cafe is open seasonally, so if the weather is nice, take a break and snack with a view.
